Effect of fly ash on the service life, carbon footprint and embodied energy of high strength concrete in the marine environment

Durability is one of the primary considerations in designing concrete structures in aggressive environments. This paper presents a study of concretes containing fly ash as 30% and 40% of the total binder in regards to service life, carbon footprint and embodied energy. A simple deterministic service...

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Main Authors: Nath, P., Sarker, Prabir, Biswas, Wahidul
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/60897
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author Nath, P.
Sarker, Prabir
Biswas, Wahidul
author_facet Nath, P.
Sarker, Prabir
Biswas, Wahidul
author_sort Nath, P.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Durability is one of the primary considerations in designing concrete structures in aggressive environments. This paper presents a study of concretes containing fly ash as 30% and 40% of the total binder in regards to service life, carbon footprint and embodied energy. A simple deterministic service life estimation technique using the well-known Fick’s law was applied to assess the service life of similar grade concrete mixes against the corrosion due to chloride diffusion. The parameters needed to predict the service life of concrete were determined from laboratory experiments. Compared to control concrete, fly ash concretes showed less chloride diffusion which is considered as the dominant form of attack in reinforced concrete structures in the marine environment and thus the latter is more durable or has a longer service life than the former. Finally, this paper presents the application of life cycle assessment to measure carbon footprint and embodied energy consumption saving benefits of the use of more durable fly ash concretes in the aggressive marine environment. About 36%–43% of carbon footprint and 36%–38% of embodied energy consumption can be avoided for different concrete covers due to replacement of 40% cement with fly ash.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-608972020-01-06T08:23:11Z Effect of fly ash on the service life, carbon footprint and embodied energy of high strength concrete in the marine environment Nath, P. Sarker, Prabir Biswas, Wahidul Durability is one of the primary considerations in designing concrete structures in aggressive environments. This paper presents a study of concretes containing fly ash as 30% and 40% of the total binder in regards to service life, carbon footprint and embodied energy. A simple deterministic service life estimation technique using the well-known Fick’s law was applied to assess the service life of similar grade concrete mixes against the corrosion due to chloride diffusion. The parameters needed to predict the service life of concrete were determined from laboratory experiments. Compared to control concrete, fly ash concretes showed less chloride diffusion which is considered as the dominant form of attack in reinforced concrete structures in the marine environment and thus the latter is more durable or has a longer service life than the former. Finally, this paper presents the application of life cycle assessment to measure carbon footprint and embodied energy consumption saving benefits of the use of more durable fly ash concretes in the aggressive marine environment. About 36%–43% of carbon footprint and 36%–38% of embodied energy consumption can be avoided for different concrete covers due to replacement of 40% cement with fly ash. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/60897 10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.12.011 Elsevier fulltext
spellingShingle Nath, P.
Sarker, Prabir
Biswas, Wahidul
Effect of fly ash on the service life, carbon footprint and embodied energy of high strength concrete in the marine environment
title Effect of fly ash on the service life, carbon footprint and embodied energy of high strength concrete in the marine environment
title_full Effect of fly ash on the service life, carbon footprint and embodied energy of high strength concrete in the marine environment
title_fullStr Effect of fly ash on the service life, carbon footprint and embodied energy of high strength concrete in the marine environment
title_full_unstemmed Effect of fly ash on the service life, carbon footprint and embodied energy of high strength concrete in the marine environment
title_short Effect of fly ash on the service life, carbon footprint and embodied energy of high strength concrete in the marine environment
title_sort effect of fly ash on the service life, carbon footprint and embodied energy of high strength concrete in the marine environment
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/60897